LAC residents: Check in (11 Viewers)

[twostep]

I'm just going to say that what everyone here is saying has truth to it. Except, "The Fire Department Chiefs have all said they have "NEVER" in their careers have seen winds as high and violent as these." Tht's bogus and anyone who lives in the hills and canyons know this Every year we get 2-5 days of super high winds (aka The Santa Anas'). In 2008, there were all kinds fires here in So Cal. driven by high winds. I remember this because my stepdad was the spokesperson for Monticeto Fire Department when the hills above Santa Barbara was on fire and watching him give daily reports on TV.

Now warning, here is a political view. Californians pay some of the highest taxes in the nation with little oversight as to how those taxes are used. And, it the policies enacted by elected officials that do not serve certain regions or even the whole state When questions are asked, they're either deflected or ignored. I'm just going to stop with it here and try to respect the rules of Nitromater.

I'm going to agree with your assessment of the wind situation and strongly disagree that last week's winds are the result of rapidly evolving climate change over the last 5 years. Strong, seasonal Santa Ana winds have been documented in the LA basin area for at least 5000 years. Yes, a couple of areas reported mountaintop 90-100mph winds but had they only been the more normal 60-70 what difference would that have made? 60-70 will whip any fire into a catastrophic monster the same as 100mph will.

For what it's worth, Pacific Palisades itself contains a considerable amount of wooded area and the Altadena area - the site of the other major fire - lies at the base of the San Gabriel mountain range and it's heavily wooded. You'd never see a fire as extensive as these had they started in the middle of large residential, non-wooded areas, in my opinion, because there's simply not enough fuel. And in the spirit of not turning political, let's just say that proper forest management over the last 50 years, while obviously not a prevent-all for large wind-driven wildfires, most definitely would have gone a long ways toward mitigating the ones going on right now.

But enough for playing the blame game for now. The daunting aftermath faces tens if not hundreds of thousands of people and for the life of me, I can't envision the scope of the processes necessary for rubble removal, infrastructure rebuilding and the future of those displaced who even with the best of efforts are looking at years before they can even think about rebuilding in the same location from where they were burnt out - if they decide to at all.

 

[z28]

The winds didn’t let the hydrants run dry.
The winds didn’t cut tens of millions of dollars from the fire department.
The winds didn’t hire degenerates and incompetence.
The winds didn’t cancel insurance policies.
The winds didn’t vote for any of this.

The winds HAVE fanned the flames (with some very suspicious timing as well) BUT… the scale of destruction is to be solely blamed on POLITICS and the VOTERS that enabled this, many of which are not Americans!

Now say goodbye to this thread in 3…..2…..1…..

California and Florida are both having to come to grips with the over population of areas that should have never been developed. Dry grass and brush burns. Hurricanes cause floods and wind damage. Paradise has it's limits.

 

[Randy]

I'm just going to say that what everyone here is saying has truth to it. Except, "The Fire Department Chiefs have all said they have "NEVER" in their careers have seen winds as high and violent as these." Tht's bogus and anyone who lives in the hills and canyons know this Every year we get 2-5 days of super high winds (aka The Santa Anas'). In 2008, there were all kinds fires here in So Cal. driven by high winds. I remember this because my stepdad was the spokesperson for Monticeto Fire Department when the hills above Santa Barbara was on fire and watching him give daily reports on TV.

Now warning, here is a political view. Californians pay some of the highest taxes in the nation with little oversight as to how those taxes are used. And, it the policies enacted by elected officials that do not serve certain regions or even the whole state When questions are asked, they're either deflected or ignored. I'm just going to stop with it here and try to respect the rules of Nitromater.

Great post, Gino.

 

[ch streetcars]

Agree Ken , my .brother owns two homes in the Florida gulf side miles inland, but these 50 year hurricanes are now a yearly occurrence, and the insurance companies are walking away. The gulf doesn't cool down in the winter like it used to, its stays superheated.

 

[Brutus26]

California and Florida are both having to come to grips with the over population of areas that should have never been developed. Dry grass and brush burns. Hurricanes cause floods and wind damage. Paradise has it's